Hover and brooder.



A. M. NICHOLS.

HOVER AND BROODER.

APlLIOATION FILED JULY 11, 1912.

v Patented Mar. 17, 1914.

2 BHBETS-SHEBI 1.

Hill 9 COLUMBIA PLMTJOGR'APH CO.,WASHING1ON, D. c.

A. M. NICHOLS. HOVER AND BROQDEE. APPLICATION PILED'JULY 11, 19121 1,090,407. Paterited Mar. 17, 191i 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

COLUMBIA FLANOGRAPH COU WASHING TON, D. c.

ARTHUR 'M. NICHOLS, 0F MARSHALL, MINNESOTA.

HOVER AND BROODER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 17,1914.

Application filed. July 11, 1912. Serial No. 708,927.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ARTHUR M. NrorioLs, citizen of the United States, residing at Marshall, in the county of Lyon and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hovers and Brooders, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to -devices for taking care of small chickens, and particularly to a brooder and hover.

The object of the invention is to provide a very simple brooder and hover, so constructed as to provide plenty of fresh air for the chicks confined thereunder, provide plenty of warmth and so formed as to keep the chicks perfectly dry.

Afurther object is to provide a hover and brooder which is easy ofoperation, requires very little attention, consumes a very small amount of fuel and wherein a uniform temperature can be maintained.

A further object is to provide a hover in which the chicks will not pile up and smother each other, the warmth of the hover being more evenly distributed than in the ordinary form of hover.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the brooder with the several elements thereof separated. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section of the brooder.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and indicated in all the views of the accompanying drawings by the same reference characters.

Referring to these drawings, 2 designates a square and relatively shallow chamber and 3 designates a like chamber disposed in spaced relation to the first named chamber and connected at its corners to the first named chamber by means of the tubes t.

Extending from the chamber 2 to the chamber 3 is a flue 5 which is shown as cylindrical, and this flue projects above the floor of the chamber 3 and entirely through said chamber.

The chamber 3 is divided into four compartments by transversely extending partitions 6 and 7, these partitions also intersecting the upper end of the flue 5. The upper end of the flue 5 is formed with perforations 8 which open into the several compartments, there being two perforations 8 for each compartment.

Surrounding that portion of the flue 5 whlch is disposed between the upper wall of the chamber 2 and the under wall or floor of the chamber 3 is a heat radiator designated 9 and comprising a cylindrical wall which is perforated and the upper portion of whlch is inclined toward and into contact with the flue 5, this inclined portion being likewise perforated.

A lamp 10 is disposed below the chamber 2 and immediately beneath the open lower end of the flue 5 so that the heat of the lamp will pass upward through the flue 5 and be distributed equally through the four compartments formed by the partitions 6 and 7.

An air pipe 11 is attached to the bottom of the chamber 2, extends laterally beneath sald chamber and then extends up through the chamber at the side of the flue and opens into the space between the flue 5 and the radiator wall 9. By this means fresh air is supplied to the chicks, this air being warmed by passing through the chamber 2, and also by its contact with the cylindrical flue 5. A smoke flue designated 12 extends down from the chamber 5 and is provided with an elbow 13 which connectes it with an upwardly extending discharge pipe 14. having a hood 15 at its upper end.

The upper portion of chamber 3 is closed by a cover plate designated 16 which of course forms part of the upper chamber 3. In conjunction with the upper chamber I provide a member 17 which is rectangular inform and has an inwardly turned flange at its upper edge. This rectangular framelike member forms an auxiliary hood which is adapted to be slipped on over the upper chamber so that it will depend below the upper chamber and tend to hold any heat that may be therein. It is particularly desirable to be used during the first week when the chicks require more heat. After this time, however, it is removed. In order to support the member 17 in place, I provide the opposite sides of chamber 3 with outwardly projecting pins 19 which are engageable through the perforations 18 in the member 17.

Disposed above the upper end of the chamber 8 and in spaced relation to the plate 16 is a hood 20 having downwardly turned marginal flanges 21 and at opposite sides the downwardly extending ears 22 which are each provided with a plurality of perforations with which the pins 19 are adapted to engage. Depending from the edges of the hood 20 is a cloth curtain 23 which extends down over the brooder and keeps the heat in. This curtain may be formed of downwardly 5 depending strips of material or constructed in any suitable manner so as to permit the chicks to have ready access to the brooder and ready exit therefrom. The hood which supports the curtains 28 is adjustable so that the curtains may be raised to a greater or less extent. As before stated, these curtains consist of strips of material or fabric which are slitted vertically to form slits so as to permit easy ingress and egress of the chicks. The slits in these curtains permit the heat to escape from the upper portion of the brooder and hence I have provided the auxil- 'iary hood 17 which, when in place, prevents the easy escape of heat from the upper portion of the brooder and acts to somewhat radiate the heat downward. This auxiliary hood as before stated may beremoved when the chicks are old enough to do away with the necessity of conserving the heat in the upper portion of the brooder. The curtains, however, will remain permanently in place, although they may be adjusted up or down to any desired extent.

This brooder is heated from beneath preferably by an oil lamp disposed beneath the center of the brooder at the lower end of the flue. However, I do not wish to be limited T ito the use of an oil lamp as a heating medium as other means for this purpose might be used. All of the heat and the products of combustion from the lamp pass up through the flue and into the upper chamber 73. A portion of the heat and all of the products of combustion pass down through 40 the four pipes at the corners of the chamber 3, thence into the chamber 2 and from there through the pipes 12, 13 and 14: into i the open air outside of the brooder. As the pipe 14 extends above the brooder and is provided with a hood 15 at its upper end,

the machine may be used in all kinds of weather. The chicks are provided with Z'Ifresh air at all times through the pipe 11,

this air being warmed as previously described. The hood 20 it will be seen may be adjusted nearer to or farther from the upper end of the heating chamber 3 so as to confine the heat more or less within the brooder and by placing the cover upon the machine, practically all of the heat may be as well as the radiator disposed at the cen ter of the brooder and that further than this, both the floor and roof of the brooder radiate a certain amountof heat and that, therefore,

all port-ions of the brooder are kept equally warm and the heat is uniformly distributed.

This eliminates trouble caused where heat proceeds entirely from one place and the chicks crowd as near as possible to the source of heat, pile up on each other and often smother. I find in practice that a hover and brooder constructed in this manner operates perfectly, is entirely effective in practice and that it requires extremely' little attention, and that a relatively small amount of oil is necessary in order to maintain a uniform temperature.

It is to be understood, of course, that the brooder is to be mounted within the brooding house, the chamber 2 being formed with an outwardly projecting flange 2 which bears upon the floor of the brooding house and supports the brooder in position. This floor upon which the brooder is supported is designated A. The walls of the brooding house are not illustrated. It will be understood, however, that the fresh air fine 11 and the flue 14 extend out through the walls of the house and are disposed within the open air.

Preferably, and in order to form a dead air space, I form the plate 16 of two thicknesses of metal separated by an asbestos nonconducting sheet, thus insulating the upper plate and preventing the too great radiation of heat into the upper portion of the brooder. In the drawings this asbestos is designated 16 7 l/Vhile I have illustrated what I believe to be the most effective form of my invention, I do not wish to be limited thereto, as many changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit thereof.

hat I claim is:

1. A hover and brooder of the character described including vertically spaced hot air chambers, a central flue leadingthrough the lower chamber and into the upper chamber, partitions dividing the upper chamber into compartments, said flue having perforations leading to each of said compartments, circulating pipes leading from each of said compartments to the lower chamber and also constituting supports for the upper chamber, a discharge pipe leading from the lower chamber, a curtain support mounted upon the uppermost hot-air chamber and projecting laterally beyond the same, and curtains depending from the margin of said support.

2. A hover and brooder of the character described including vertically spaced hot air chambers defining between them a brooding space, a central flue leading to the upper hot air chamber and through the lower hot air chamber, heating means disposed inthe lower end of the fine, return connections leading from the upper hot air chamber to the lower and disposed adjacent the outer margins of the hot air chambers, a discharge pipe leading from the lower chamber,

a radiator surrounding the hot air flue and spaced therefrom and formed with perforations, and an air pipe entering the opening into the radiator.

3. A hover and brooder of the character described, including vertically spaced hot air chambers, a central flue passing up through the lower chamber opening into the upper chamber, return fiues extending from the upper chamber to the lower chamber, a hood supported upon the upper chamber but of larger area than the upper chamber and having curtains extending downward approximately to the floor oi the lower chamber, and a detachable auxiliary hood supported upon the upper chamber having a side wall extending downward below the upper chamber and inward of said curtains.

4. A hover and brooder of the character described, including upper and lower hot air chambers in fixed spaced relation to each other and defining between them a brooding space, means for heating and circulating air in said chambers, a covering member having curtains extending downward to the floor of the brooding space, and a detachable hood mounted upon the upper chamber, said hood extending downward therefrom part of the distance between the upper and lower members and being disposed within the space defined by the curtains.

5. A hover and brooder of the character described, including Vertically spaced hot air chambers, a central flue, return connections between the upper hot air chamber and the lower, pins projecting from the wall of the hot air chamber, a removable auxiliary hood conforming in shape to the shape of the upper chamber and mounted thereon, and having a depending wall adapted to extend part of the distance between the upper chamber to the lower chamber, whereby to confine the heat within the upper portion of the brooding space, said hood having perforations for the passage of the pins, and a curtain supporting hood having depending perforated legs engaging with said pins.

6. A hover and brooder of the character described, including 'vertically spaced hotair chambers, a central flue opening at its lower end below the bottom of the lower h0tair chamber and opening at its upper end into the upper hot-air chamber, a hood adjustably mounted upon the upper chamber and having downwardly extending sides, a detachable curtain support mounted above the hood and supported on the upper chamber, said curtain support extending out beyond the hood and having curtains extending down around the brooder, return pipes extending from the upper chamber to the lower chamber, and a discharge pipe extending from the lower chamber.

7. A hover and brooder of the character described including vertically spaced horizontally disposed, square hot air chambers, a central flue passing through the lower hot air chamber and opening into the upper hot air chamber, partitions dividing the upper hot air chamber into a plurality of compartments, return flues leading, one from each of said compartments into the lower hot air chamber, and a hood mounted above the upper hot air chamber and having ourtains extending down around the chambers and inclosing the space between the two.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ARTHUR M. NICHOLS. [1,. s]

Witnesses H. H. Gusnan, C. M. HOAGLAND.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

